Hamburger Cookies

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) box vanilla wafers (nabisco nilla original size)
• 1 (10 ounce) package cookies (keebler fudge shoppe grasshopper, chocolate covered mint cookies)
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 egg , slightly beaten with water
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds (toasted)
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, softened)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 -3 tablespoons half-and-half or 2 -3 tablespoons cream or 2 -3 tablespoons milk
• food coloring (green, red*, yellow)

Recipe

• 1 frosting: combine butter, vanilla, sugar, salt, and half-and-half in an electric mixer.
• 2 add enough milk to get to a fairly thin consistency for frosting.
• 3 divide into 3 separate bowls; one holding ½ of the frosting, the other two containing ~1/4 each.
• 4 color ½ of the frosting orange to simulate cheese, using red and yellow food coloring. (use real items to match colors).
• 5 color ¼ of the frosting bright yellow to simulate mustard, and the last, red, to simulate ketchup. (red will take a lot of liquid food coloring to get past “pink.â€? you can buy gel-based “super redâ€?at any cake decorating supply store).
• 6 place each batch of frosting into a plastic baggie.
• 7 remove air, close, and snip a tiny bit off of one of the bottom corners.
• 8 cookies: preheat oven to 325º. toast sesame seeds lightly in a small sauté pan. cool.
• 9 brush ½ of the nilla wafers tops with egg wash.
• 10 place on baking sheet.
• 11 sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.
• 12 pop into the oven for ~5 minutes to gently cook the egg , so that the cookies don’t need to be refrigerated.
• 13 while these are cooking, with a rasp, lightly shave the curved tops of the remaining nilla wafers, so that they can sit flat on a plate (optional, but makes life easier later).
• 14 place ½ of the coconut into a plastic zip-lock bag.
• 15 add several drops of green food coloring and squish the bag around until the coconut resembles lettuce.
• 16 place the shaved nilla wafer “bun bottomâ€? with the natural flat side up.
• 17 dab 4 drops of frosting “ketchupâ€? around the edge. dab 4 drops of frosting “mustardâ€? in the remaining spaces on the edge.
• 18 sprinkle green “lettuceâ€? coconut.
• 19 place the mint cookie “hamburger pattyâ€? on top and gently press down slightly.
• 20 squeeze a good dollop of orange “cheeseâ€? frosting on top of the cookie.
• 21 sprinkle remaining “onionâ€? coconut on top.
• 22 place the sesame-coated “top bunâ€? nilla wafer on top, and gently press down.
• 23 serve with toasted slivered almonds, resembling french fries!
• 24 *it takes a lot of liquid red food coloring to get past “pink.â€? try using “super redâ€? gel-based red pigment, found at any local cake decorating supply store.